The Dictionary of American Studio Ceramics, 1946 Onward
The Dictionary of American Studio Ceramics, 1946 Onward
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1970Born
EDUCATION
1997BFA University of Minnesota, Minnesota
2000MFA Indiana University, Pennsylvania
APPRENTICESHIPS AND RESIDENCIES
2002Artist in Residence, Jingdezhen Sanboa Ceramic Art Institute, Jingdezhen, China
2002Artist in Residence, Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, Montana
2004Arts/Industry Resident, John Michael Kohler Factory, Kohler, Wisconsin
2006Arts/Industry Resident, John Michael Kohler Factory, Kohler, Wisconsin
2010Virginia A. Groot Foundation Grant
2010Visiting Artist, Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, Montana
2011-2014Artist in Residence, MEISSEN art CAMPUS®, Meissen Manufactory, Leipzig, Germany
PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE
1994—Studio Artist
BIOGRAPHY
Chris Antemann is known for porcelain tableaux reflective of her study of 18th century European decorative arts. Early in her career she made a few functional vessel forms.
It was her study of 18th century porcelain figurines the Meissen porcelain modeler Johann Joachim Kändler and rococo paintings by Antoine Watteau, Jean-Honoré Fragonard and François Boucher that led her to the work she is best known for. In contrast to her European influences, Antemann relies on literal representation rather than coy suggestion. Her work explores gender roles, androgyny and the seamier side of upstairs–downstairs social interactions. Women are presented in varying levels of dress and the men are naked.
She developed a technique that employs combinations of hand-built, molded, and cast parts for each figure. The porcelain tableware, food, fruits and floral arrangements are hand built and/or cast as are some parts of the furniture and architectural features. Hand painting, decals and glazes, including luster and gilding, are used on the figures, textiles, the tableware, furniture etc. Antemann assembles these porcelain elements into contemporary narrative ceramic sculptures of scenes of pleasure gardens, intimate genre scenes without walls etc. Prior to her work at MEISSEN art CAMPUS®, Leipzig, Germany (2011-14), Antemann used a cream-colored porcelain body for her work but adopted the Meissen white porcelain body during her residency.
While working in collaboration with the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, Antemann completed a room installation titled “Forbidden Fruit: a Collection of Antemann Dreams,” consisting of a formal 18th-century banquet table centerpiece on mirrored plateau which was exhibited at the Museum of Art, Meissen, Germany in 2013 and as a traveling show in the USA. The themes of the table top installation were: Forbidden Fruit, Love Temple, Fruit Pyramid, Pleasure Garden, Paradise Chandelier and A Taste of Paradise.
Public Collections
Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, Montana
Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona
Foshan Ceramic Museum, Foshan, China
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia
John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Kohler Company, Kohler, Wisconsin
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
Sanbao International Ceramic Residency Program, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Provence, China
Bibliography
Boggs, Sheri. “Chris Antemann and Beth Cavener Stichter.” Ceramic Art and Perception 56 (June 2004).
Brown, Glen R. “Chris Antemann: Figuring Power.” Clay in Art International Yearbook 2007/08. Edited by Kostas Tarkasis. Athens, Greece: Clay in Art International, 2008.
Buckley, Tim. “Creative Oasis.” Artisan Northwest, Spring 2006.
Cridler, Kim. "Christina Antemann: Domestic Ironies." John Michael Kohler Arts Center Newsletter. Sheboygan, WI: John Michael Kohler Arts Center, May-June 2004.
Demarest, Marty. “Silence and Story.” The Pacific Northwest Inlander, April 8, 2004.
Jeon, Shin-Yeon. “New Blue and White at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.” World Ceramic Art, Monthly Ceramic Art (April 2013).
Laing-Malcolmson, Bonnie. Chris Antemann, Contemporary Northwest Art Awards. Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 2011.
Levato, Lauren and Kendrick Moholt, eds. For the Love of the Figurine: The Porcelain Sculptures of Chris Antemann through the Lens of Kendrick Moholt. San Francisco, CA: Blurb Books, 2012.
Lovelace, Joyce. “Radar, Chris Antemann.” American Craft, December/January 2008.
Tourtillott, Suzanne J. E. 500 Animals in Clay: Contemporary Expressions of the Animal Form. New York: Lark Books, 2006.
Wandless, Paul Andrew, ed. Image Transfer on Clay: Screen, Relief, Decal & Monoprint Techniques. Ashville, NC: Lark Books, 2006.
CV or Resume: Click Here to Download
Website(s):
"C Ante" plus date edged into wet clay, "Antemann" plus date, sometimes in rectangle with leaves on the edges written in colorful glaze
Citation: "The Marks Project." Last modified August 6, 2023. http://www.themarksproject.org:443/marks/antemann